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Did the Media Cause the Recession?

January 8, 2009 RSS Feed Print

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I recently received an angry letter from a reader -- not an unusual occurrence -- that blamed the media for causing the recession. By talking about the fact that retail sales are down and people are spending less, it makes people less likely to feel optimistic, the writer argued.

I dismissed it as just crazy idea, but today, I spoke with Ellen Davis, vice president at the National Retail Federation, and she said essentially the same thing. "News can create a self-fulfilling prophesy," she says. "Even if you still have your job and are doing fine, we keep hearing about how bad the economy is, and then as a shopper you start to question your own buying habits."

In reality, she says, this shopping season was a great one for shoppers. "You could stretch your dollar more than ever before," she says.

What do you think: Are the media to blame for the down economy? (But no need to write me an angry letter.)

Tags:: personal finance

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Yes, the media certainly greatly contributed to the recession. If you doubt the power of the media to influence peoples' thoughts without any confirmation of facts, I need only refer to the Mercury Theater of the Air's "War of the Worlds" broadcast which had people actually believing Mars had invaded Earth! People unfortunately tend to believe what they see and hear when it comes from news agencies without demanding any verification of the veracity of the reporting. Given that, it is easy for the "gloom and doom" message spouted to sell headlines to become a self-fulfilling prophecy...

Don Phipps of CA 2:12AM April 17, 2012

Kimberly, I agree with most of the comments before mine. I don't wear rose colored glasses. Yes, the country and the world have economic challenges we need to overcome. If I hear "the economy" one more time, I'm going to slit my wrists and I have a good job and my region's economy is relatively healthy. Hearing the gloom and doom over and over is akin to bad parents driving their children into despair, depression, and low self-esteem by hearing nothing but negative things. Does the media want to be part of the problem (sensationalizing) or part of the solution? Is there a way the media can band together and deliver positive, encouraging messages that will inspire spending, distill fear, empower the unemployed to retrain, re-educate or become entrepeneurs? I truly believe that by delivering (or spinning as it's called) the news in a more optimistic, uplifting, hopeful way, we can all turn things around and come out of this mess created by a few greedy and selfish people.

anonymous of NY 3:26PM April 04, 2009

If the media would SHUT UP people would spend money and get things flowing again. just like when those brats were walking into schools and killing and the stupid media just played it into the ground. Repeating the story over and over glorified it, and then some stupid little glory seeker would repeat the same violence . the media needs to shut up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are what is killing this nation. so shut up.
you and the greedy CEO's and greedy bankers, and people who are used to big fat pay checks. You don't care about any one but yourselves. we need to start doing like the third world countries and cutting some heads off of people who take advantage of their media jobs. Just shut up and thing will get a little better. it's going to take years, but it's only going to get worse if you keep hammering away at this.

michelle of NC 12:55PM February 19, 2009